Manipur to prevent entry of Naga leader

The Manipur govt has stepped up
security measures at all border points to prevent entry of NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah into the state on the apprehension that his visit might disturb communal
harmony.

Imphal: The Manipur Government has stepped up
security measures at all border points to prevent entry of
NSCN (I-M) general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah into the state
on the apprehension that his visit might disturb communal
harmony, official sources said on Sunday.

Muivah could enter Manipur, his home state, through two
possible points -- the Manipur-Nagaland border at Mao gate in
Senapati district and Jessami town on the Nagaland-Ukhrul
route in Ukhrul district, they said.

India Reserve Battalion (IRB), Manipur Rifles and police
commandos were deployed at these areas to prevent the entry of
the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) leader who
was to visit his home town at Somdal in Ukhrul district from
May 3 to 10.

The 75-year-old Naga leader has not visited his
birthplace since 1960, sources close to him said.

The Manipur cabinet had on April 30 decided to prevent
entry as it might cause communal disharmony endangering the
peaceful coexistence of different ethnic communities.

Muivah, a senior Tangkhul Naga in Nagaland, was to visit
several Naga-inhabited areas in Manipur to hold consultations
with Naga leaders on the ongoing talks between NSCN (I-M) and
the Centre.

Sources said the state government had informed Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram
that Manipur would not allow entry of Muivah because the
ceasefire between NSCN (I-M) and Centre was in force only in
Nagaland and not in Manipur.

DGP Y Joy Kumar has informed the Union home ministry that
state police would not be able to provide security to him,
sources said.

NSCN (I-M) and the Centre entered into a ceasefire
agreement nearly a decade ago and peace talks have been going
on for several years, sources said.

They said the talks had not been making much progress
because of the demand of the NSCN (I-M) that all
Naga-inhabited areas of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh
should be merged with Nagaland -- a demand which was rejected
by the neighbouring states.